In recent years, flat-panel television units have become enormously popular in both the commercial and the residential sectors. As the prices for plasma and liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panel displays have continued to fall, and as the quality for the same devices has improved, more and more businesses and individuals have purchased such devices both for business and home entertainment purposes.
One of the advantages of flat-panel television units that customers have found particularly appealing is their relatively low thickness. Because conventional “tube” televisions have a relatively large depth, the display options for such devices are quite limited. In the residential setting, most users require a television stand or large entertainment center to store the television. Such stands or entertainment centers can take up significant floor space, which is often undesirable. In the commercial or educational setting, users will often install large overhead mounting systems that can contain the television. However, these systems usually require professional installation and, once the television is secured in the mount, it is often very difficult to access and adjust due to its height.
With flat-panel televisions, on the other hand, users are presented with a relatively new option: mounting the television directly to a wall. By mounting the television to a wall, a person can eliminate the need to take up potentially valuable floor space with a television stand or entertainment unit. Furthermore, individuals and entities can mount the television at a sufficiently low height to be able to adjust the television's orientation with little difficulty.
Although the introduction of flat-panel televisions on a wide scale has presented new opportunities to both residential and commercial customers, it has also presented new challenges. Over the past few years, a number of wall mounting systems have been developed for use with flat panel televisions, but each has its own drawbacks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,109 discloses a wall mounting system that permits a flat panel television to have a limited range of motion once it is mounted to the wall. Although somewhat useful, the system described in this reference has only a limited range of motion, is relatively expensive to manufacture due to the number of components, and provides the user with no ability to rotate the television about an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the ground. Additionally, such a system provides the user with no ability to pull the television away from the wall, further limiting the television's range of motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,101 and U.S. Application Publication No. 2004/0245420 disclose mounting systems that provide the television with a greater degree of potential motion. However, the systems described in these references are extremely complex in nature, particularly when an articulating arm is included to permit the television to be pulled away from the wall. More particularly, the articulating arm on such products often has up to three separate joints, each of which adds to the product's complexity and cost to manufacture. The multiple joints also cause additional friction to exist in the system, which can wear out plastic components rather quickly. Additionally, such designs can have significant stability and control issues when the television is pulled away from the wall, as the mass of the television creates a significant moment that can place significant forces on the single articulating arm. This can pose both product integrity and safety issues. Furthermore, such systems can be so large, heavy and bulky that installation becomes exceedingly difficult, often requiring two or more persons to correctly install the device. This is particularly problematic for flat panel televisions, which are often heavier than conventional tube televisions. Lastly, such mounting systems often cannot “collapse” into a very low profile when the television is not intended to be extended away from the wall. This can result in a loss of space in a room and create the appearance of increased clutter.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a wall mounting system that is simple in design, easy to install, while still being constructed to permit users to orient a flat panel display in a variety of positions.